Will Notre Dame earn a trip to the 2012 BCS National Championship game?

College football tickets, and in particular the NCAA bowl game tickets, are some of the biggest money makers in the secondary event ticket market. As such, selling college football tickets can be particularly challenging as thousands of ticket brokers are competing for the same customers. While direct marketing bowl games is tricky until the actual teams involved are officially announced, the smart ticket brokers get ahead of the competition by anticipating the bowl bids and starting search engine optimization campaigns early.

As such, we thought it would be prudent to take a look at the current state of the BCS standings and make some predictions on who will be going to what BCS Bowl Games in 2012 (actually 2013). Prior to this weekend it was a given that Alabama would again be playing in the BCS Championship game. However, following Alabama’s dramatic loss to Texas A&M on Saturday, the BCS picture has changed substantially. As it stands today, here is who we think will play in each of the 5 BCS Bowl game this season.

Although we have 3 undefeated teams that can all make the case that they should be in the National Championship game, the most likely match up is Notre Dame vs Kansas State. Oregon has 3 games remaining and all will likely be against top 25 teams. The Ducks close out the season against #13 Stanford and #16 Oregon State before playing in the PAC 12 Championship likely against #17 UCLA. If the Ducks can win out they would be a shoe-in to be in the title game. However, we see the Ducks slipping up against one of them. Both Kansas State and Notre Dame has just 1 game remaining with a ranked opponent and will not have to play in a conference championship game. The K-State Wildcats will play #15 Texas while Notre Dame will play #18 USC.

Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma Sooners vs. Georgia Bulldogs

With Kansas State likley headed to the BCS Championship game, the Oklahoma Sooners would represent the Big 12 in the Fiesta Bowl. Assuming Alabama wins out in the SEC, that would mean the Georgia Bulldogs would probably get an at-large berth in the Fiesta Bowl as the #2 SEC team.

Rose Bowl: Oregon Ducks vs. Nebraska Cornhuskers

The Rose Bowl features the top teams from the PAC 12 and Big 10. If we assume Oregon is going to falter down the stretch, then they would be Rose Bowl bound. With the Big 10 down this year (Ohio State is not bowl eligible), that leaves the Nebraska Cornhuskers as the likely champion. Both teams are popular and travel well which means strong ticket demand.

Sugar Bowl: Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Clemson Tigers

The Sugar Bowl could easily be represented by Georgia, Florida, or Alabama. However, we feel the Crimson Tide are the best team of the bunch and should win in a SEC Championship game at a neutral stadium. Alabama would then likely face the Clemson Tigers as the #2 team in the ACC in the Sugar Bowl.

Orange Bowl: Florida State Seminoles vs. Rutgers Scarlet Knights

The Orange Bowl is represented by the top ACC team and an at-large team likely the Big East Champion. The top ACC team should be Florida State. The Big East champion is looking like Rutgers. If the game turns out to be this match-up do not expect there to be much in terms of ticket demand. FSU would be big time favorites.

The Oregon Ducks are nearly a lock to make the BCS Championship Game. Who will they play?

With selection Sunday just a little over a week away, rumors are flying regarding who will be playing in each of the 2010-2011 BCS Bowl games. Not to be left out on all the fun, we will add to the excitement by breaking down the scenarios and predicting who will play in each of the 5 BCS Bowl Games: Fiesta Bowl, Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Rose Bowl and the BCS Championship.

The Fiesta Bowl will feature the Big 12 Champion (unless they are in the BCS Championship game) against the final at large bid. The Big 12 is a bit of a mess this year with both Texas and Oklahoma having down years. We think this year the Big 12 Champion will be the Oklahoma State Cowboys. OSU has an extremely underrated QB in Brandon Weeden with solid play makers in running back Kendall Hunter and wideout Justin Blackmon. For the final at large bid we like West Virginia. If WVU beats Pitt on Friday, they would likely be a lock for the Fiesta Bowl.

The Orange Bowl features the ACC Champion against the 2nd at large bid ( the first at large bid going to the Sugar Bowl). The ACC Champion is almost certainly going to be Virginia Tech. The Hokies opponent will be the runner up in the Big 10. For this we like Ohio State. Call us a believer in conspiracy theories but OSU will find a way to wiggle in ahead of Michigan State.

The SEC Champion will receive an automatic berth in the Sugar Bowl. Since Auburn (if they can beat Alabama in the Iron Bowl) will likely to earn a trip to the title game, the runner up will represent the SEC in the Sugar Bowl. LSU is the logical replacement here as if they beat Arkansas they would have only 1 loss. SEC representative will play the first at large team selected. An undefeated TCU Horned Frog team will be hard to turn down for this game.

The Rose Bowl traditionally matches up the PAC-10 and Big 10 Champions. However, with Oregon virtually a lock to make the BCS Championship game, tradition will be thrown out the door. Wisconsin should end up winning the Big 10, but should Oregon and Auburn win out and make the Championship game, then the BCS would have to choose Boise State.

We are not really going out on a limb here by predicting that Oregon will face Auburn in the BCS Championship but that is the mostly likely scenario. This game would feature 2 of the highest powered offenses in the country and would certainly be an exciting game. However, it would still be great if Boise State could somehow sneak in as it would guarantee that one team would win their first National Championship. It wouldn’t be much of a stretch as Auburn would just need to lose to either Alabama in the Iron Bowl or South Carolina in the SEC Championship game- either could realistically happen.